1.17 Using a course book
You should look at any course book you are about to use with a critical eye. Check over each unit to see whether it suits your students’ goals. If so, you can go ahead with
it. If not, you might want to choose a different book or stick with it and find other material that covers the areas that are lacking. This can apply to whole units or parts of
them. There might be parts of the book that are too difficult or too easy for your students; you might consider leaving those bits out or supplementing them. You might
also want to do things in a different order to how it appears in the course book. The key is to think about your students. Remember you’re teaching students not teaching a
course book. It’s important to look at these aspects before you start using the book. It’s more difficult to change a book when you’ve started using it.
1.18 Choosing a course book
If you are asked to choose a course book, here are some guidelines to help you through. It is a list of questions; I suggest you go through the course book, answering
each of the questions.
Topics: do you think the topics will interest your students? Will students have something to say about the subjects?
Aims of students: will the book cater to your students’ needs? First think about your students’ reasons for learning; their aims might be to learn general English.
On the other hand, you might have a class who are studying because they have a specific purpose in mind, e.g. participating in meetings in English. If so, check
whether the book will provide enough practice in such work.
Completeness: does the book provide enough explanation and practice of language and skills? Is there enough practice of vocabulary, grammar, and
pronunciation? Is there enough skills work? Or will you need to supplement? Remember, supplementing will take time.
Skills: how does the book deal with the four skills? Are they all dealt with adequately? Does this correspond to the needs of your learners?
Approach: think about the approach to the activities and language – will it suit your students and your own teaching style?
Syllabus: is the book pitched at the right level e.g. not all intermediate books are at the same level; check this carefully by looking at how language work is
presented. Does the book follow on from the students’ previous course book?
Additional materials: what extras accompany the course book? Is there a teacher’s book, a workbook, a cassette or CD? What are these like? Can you get
hold of them easily? If not, can the book be used without them?
Availability: how easily can you get hold of multiple copies of a book? Even if it’s the best course book on earth, it won’t help you if it can’t be delivered on time.
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Flickability: this refers to the attractiveness of the book; flick through the book and note whether it looks appealing or dry and boring. Obviously, not the most
important of the criteria
Finally, you have to like the book.
1.19 Roles of the teacher
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